Battery-plate mold.



PATENTBD SEPT. 13, 1904.

A. c. Woon snm-A. MQMULLAN.

BATTERY 'PLATE MOLD.

l lAPJELIOATIQN FILED FBILZO. 1`902.

N0 MODEL.

MEM i ma :n

No. 770,139. vTATENTBD SEPT. 13, 1904. A. C. WOOD & J. A.M0MULLAN.

BATTERY PLATE MOLD.

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Patented September 13, 1904.

Price.

PATENT il? PHILADELPHIA` PENNSYLVANIA.

BATTERY-PLATE MOLD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,139, dated September 13, 1904.

'i Application filed February 20, 1902. Serial No. 94,984. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that we, ALBERT CARROLL WOOD and JAMES ALEXANDER MCMULLAN, citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Battery-Plate Molds, of which the following is a specilication, reference being' had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention has for its object the economic and rapid formation of storage-battery plates or electrodes, which are of novel and very desirable construction.

In order that our invention may be more easily understood, we have in the accompanying drawings illustrated the mechanism employed for molding or casting the electrodes.

In such drawings, Figure l is a plan view of one section of a mold in which are placed nine holders for the strips of lead tape which enter into the construction of the electrode to be formed. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the strip-holders detached. Fig. I is a top plan view of a somewhat different form of strip-holder. Fig. 5 is a side view of one of the strips of lead, and Fig. 5 an edge View of the same strip. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view illustrating the method of procedure followed in making' an electrode of more than ordinary thickness. Fig. 7 is a plan View of a completed electrode made according to our invention. l

The electrode which is illustrated in Fig. 7 consists of a frame of suitable material, suchV as lead or an alloy of lead and a series of strips of thin lead or lead tape, as this material is commonly known in the art, arranged parallel to each other and in groups or masses I which are separated from each other by crosspieces'of the frame. The masses or groups of lead strips are preferably so arranged that those of one mass are disposed at right angles to those of the next adjacent mass, as this construction is found to reduce the danger of the electrode buckling or warping.

The outer rim of the frame of the electrode we have designated a, and the intermediate partitions or cross-pieces as a. rIhe strips of lead tape are designated The strips of each set or group are parallel with each other, are situated so as to be separated a short distance from each other, and the ends of each strip are united with the contiguous parts c or a of the frame by being fused therewith, so that the completed article is an integral structure.

Heretofore it has been a matter requiring much labor and the exercise of considerable skill to properly arrange the lead strips in the frame, particularly when an electrode of large size is to be produced. One of the objects of our invention is to reduce the labor and skill incident to the proper arrangement of the lead strips relative toeach other and to theelectrode as a whole and to facilitate the casting of such electrodes and at the same time insure absolute uniformity in the resulting product.

The mold which we employ is formed of two sections O and D, which are adapted to be brought together face to face, as indicated in Fig. 2, when a casting is to be made. Each section is provided with va central cavity or recess of a size or contour corresponding with that of the electrode which is to be produced. Each sectionfis provided with suitable channels e, through which the fluid metal is forced and which serve to conduct it to the moldchamber. Y

F indicates a strip-holder- It consists of a suitable piece of metal, preferably steel, of rectangular shape and having one face channeled or grooved, as indicated at f. The

and support one of the lead strips We Vprefer that each of the strip-holders should have a solid back f. from which project the ribs or partitions f, which separate the grooves j. rIhe ends of each partition and the outer faces of the outermost or side partitions are slightly beveled in order to permit the strip-holder to be drawn from the mold. It will be seen by referring to Figs, l l and 3 that the base portion f extends latwidth of each groove `is suiicient to receiver i GPS.

erally in each direction a little beyond the grooved portion of the holder, so that when a series of holders are arranged in the vmold, as represented in Fig. 1, there will be channels or free spaces between the strip-holding grooved portions of the several strip carriers or holders.

rlhe lead strips b are a little longer than the grooves f, so that when they are placed in such grooves their ends project slightly beyond the ends of the ribs or partitions f" and extend into the channels or passages h between the holders. y

The strip-'holders bear a definite relation in size to the size of the chambers or recesses in the molds C and D, so that a given numberof such holders, as four -or sixor nine, the latter number being represented in the drawings, will completely 'lill the mold-chamber. We prefer that the strip-carriers should ybe arranged in the .mold as shown in Fig. `1-that is to say, with the grooves in one holder at right angles to those next adjacent .to it.

From this description vthe process -of forming an electrode will be readily understood. The strip-holders are filled with strips, which may :be done `by unskilled workmen, and lsthe holders .thus lled are yplaced in the molds in the manner indicated in Fig. l, the strips carried by each section projecting outward into thechannels i, lformed between the strip-hold- The strip-,holders being thus arranged, the two parts of the mold are `,brought together and the metal poured in in the usual manner. Itwill be understood that the `metal to form the frame follows the channels hand h" and that in so doing it surrounds the ends of the strips, which project into these channels or passagesand fuses them, so that when the metal cools .and becomes solid each strip has -.been united at each of its ends with `the mass of metal which consti-tutes the supporting-frame. After the metal .becomes hard theparts of the .mold C and D are separated, the strip-holders are drawn out, and the `completed electrode is produced.

We prefer that the ends of the strips yb should be serrated, as indicated at g, in order to insure better and more certain union of the strip with the frame.

Itis often desirable :to use lead strips of corrugated shape, vand when such strips are to be used we prefer to Aemploy a holder like that represented in Fig. 4. In this form -of holder the partitions f2 extend but part way across the face of the base portion f, as clearly indicated in Fig. 4. The side partitions f3 of course are continuous from end to end of the plate to prevent the fluid -metal from entering the central -open part of the holder. In using corrugated strips we prefer to corrugate a portion of their ylength only, such strips being .arranged as indicated in Fig. 4:, where two -corrugated strips are represented as being in plan.

It is sometimes desired to make an electrode of unusual thickness., This can be done by employing two sets -of strip-holders and arranging them as shown in Fig. 6e-that is to say, so that the grooved faces of the holders shall come opposite to each other. The strips, which are :twice the width ofthose usually employed, will each be supported in the channels formed by the registering grooves of the two opposing strip-holders. It will be understood lthat the recesses formed in the molds will be different in size and depth from those illustrated in Fig. 2 when two sets of strip-holders are used in the manner illustrated vin Fig. 6 for the purpose of makinga thick felectrode,but itis deemed unnecessary to illustrate the molds further from what is shown in Fig. 6.

It will be observed that each holder coniprises a base upon .which a group of strips is supported on Iedge, abutments carried by the base and against which the outermost strips of the group rest, such abutments being represented as formed by ,the outermost ribs or partitions, and means carried bythe base for properly positioning and holding against lateral movement the holder when in the mold,y such positioning and holding means being formed in the embodiment of our invention herein illustrated by those portions of the base that project laterally beyond the group of strips supportedon the base. These means for .holding the strip-holders in the mold-sec-v tion .are arranged below 4the lower edges of the strips when the latter are horizontally disposed, as represented in the drawings, and preferably have .their upper faces in the same plane as :thelower faces ofthe group .of strips, as by this arrangement the completed electrode has the faces of all of its partsthat is, of the rigid frame and the groups of strips-in a common plane. Such av holder may be and preferably is square in outline and is adapted to hold a group of strips that is also square. This `enables us to use .holders that are duplicates-of each other, .and permits them to be quickly and easily arranged in the mold-sections in any desired relations,such as that shown in the drawings,where the strips of adjacent groups are at right angles to each other or with the strips of all the groups parallel. By-constructing the holder so that it receives and holds agroup of strips that is square in youtline we can produce an electrode that does not contain undesirably largeopen spaces between the strips and lthe bars of the rigid cast frame, as has heretofore been incident to electrodes formed with a rigid cast frame and groups vof lead strips incorporated therein, but rather has the spaces between the strips themselves and between them and the bars lof the frame of substantially uniform size.

What we claim isl. A mold adapted for use in the casting of IOO ISO

electrodes for secondary batteries, comprising a holder adapted to support a series of lead strips edgewise and substantially parallel with each other, the said holder having formed in its face a series of open-ended grooves, and there being arranged adjacent to the opposite open ends of each of the said grooves channels through which the fluid metal flows, whereby the strips are held securely and are caused to be intimately united at each end by fusion with the frame of the electrode, substantially as set forth.

2. A mold adapted for use inthe manufacture of electrodes for secondary batteries, comprising a plurality of holders each adapted to support a series of lead strips edgewise and substantially parallel with each other and with their opposite ends exposed, the face of each holder having formed therein a series of openended grooves for the lead strips, and there being channels to receive the fluid metal from which the frame of the electrode is formed adjacent to the opposite open ends of each of the grooves in the faces of the holders, substantially as set forth.

3. A holder` for supporting strips of lea edgewise, having a solid back or base portion and a grooved face in which the strips are placed, the back portion extending laterally beyond the open ends of the grooves formed in the face thereof, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with a recessed mold, of a series of holders adapted to support thin strips of lead edgewise in the mold, such holders being rectangular and having` solid base portions, and grooved or channeled top portions in which the said strips are placed, the base portions of the holders extending laterally beyond the grooved parts thereof, whereby when two of such holders are placed side by side a channel is formed between their grooved portions, substantially as set forth.

5. Aholder adapted to support corrugated strips of lead in themanufacture of electrodes for secondary batteries having a solid back, and a grooved face formed of the short partitionsf2 separated from each other by grooves adapted to receive thelead strips, and the continuous side partitions f3, substantially as set forth.

6. In a mold adapted for use in the manufacture of electrodes for secondary batteries, a pair of opposite mold-sections and means for holding strips of material which are to be incorporated into the electrode on edge, and in independent groups, during the'casting' operation, such means comprising groups of ribs projecting outward from one of the mold-sections and arranged to form grooves in which the strips are held, the said groups of ribs being arranged in a common horizontal plane,

and separated from each other by-channels,

ribs of each group being disposed to formA grooves between them, the opposite ends of such grooves opening into channels at opposite sides of the group of ribs, substantially as set forth.

8. The herein-described casting apparatus for use in the manufacture of electrodes for secondary batteries, comprising a pair of opposite mold-sections and holders for strips of material to be incorporated into the mold, such holders comprising two sets of ribs carried by the opposite mold-sections and arranged to come opposite each other when the mold-sections are closed, whereby the strips are held, partly by the holders in one mold-section and partly by the holders in the other section, substantially as set forth.

9. A holder for supporting metallic strips which are to be incorporated into an electrode, having' a base portion and-ribs rigidly secured to one face thereof, the base portion extending in all directions beyond said ribs,whereby when the holder is inserted in a mold there will be a channel for metal entirely surrounding said ribs, substantially as set forth.

lO. A holder of the class described for supporting metallic strips edgewise, having a solid base portion and the partitions f3 projecting upwardly therefrom and adapted to have the metallic strips arranged between them, said base portion extending beyond the ends and the outermost sides of said partitions, substantially as set forth.

11. A holder of the class described for supporting metallic strips edgewise, having asolid back or base portion, the partitions f3, f3, projecting from one face thereof and arranged near opposite ends of said base portion, vand two sets of ribs fz, f2 arranged between said partitions f3, f3, one set at either side of the said base portion, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we afx our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT CARROLL WOOD. JAMES ALEXANDER MCMULLAN.

Witnesses:

VVINFIELD S. WALKER, WVALTER H. Woon. 

